My Yoke Is Easy

REMIND EVERYONE AGAIN, OF THE WEDNESDAY EVENING SERVICES BECOMING PRAYER MEETINGS.

BBQ Rib Dinner for MBTC

Mention of how much wisdom a person can accrue in a decade and of how I wonder what kind of knowledge I will have when I’m 61 yo. (Then ask Craig Scoville, since today is his 61st birthday!

Have any of you ever had something to do that you knew was going to be difficult and time consuming and even costly, and because of this, you dreaded doing it?

Like, if you have been given a very difficult and laborious task at work to undertake on the coming Monday and it is so unnerving and stressful, that the whole weekend you are miserable and loath and dread seeing Monday come. Even more so than you usually do!

Then, when you crawl in on Monday morning, you find that someone else, over the weekend, completed the task and you don’t have to undertake it! INSTANTLY, the weight and burden of the immovable object is gone and this becomes the greatest MONDAY in the history of your life!

Or, maybe you have had a really long week at work, with late nights and long days and it is Friday and you dread coming home, because the yard has been neglected for the past 2 weeks and it desperately needs mowing and weed eating and raking and this will take quite awhile and all you want to do is rest.

Then, when you pull in, you see that your yard looks immaculate, because your neighbor has come over and mowed and raked and even trimmed the hedges, because they know the long hours you have had to work and they wanted to lessen the load for you!

You know how good that sort of feeling is, right?

And as good as these things feel, when the burdens are lifted from us, these situations are temporal and short lived and easily gotten over.

What about the weight and burden of something that is prolonged and lengthy in your life?

Like, what if you were wrongly accused of a crime and sentenced for life in prison?

Imagine the weight and burden that this would bare upon you!

Then, after a couple of years, a piece of evidence is found and presented before the court and you are exonerated and given freedom and a full pardon along with a substantial amount of money for back pay for the years of loss and hardship that you endured.

Can you imagine the release that you would feel?

We understand that not having to carry a burden, or take a heavy load upon ourselves is desirable, in the natural sense, right?

Well, what about in the spiritual sense? How many of us who have ever been freed from the weight and guilt and shame of sin and condemnation, would want to bolster that heaviness in our lives again?

I don’t think that any honest person would say, “Yes, I want to carry the weight of my sin and shame upon me again!”

But even outside of sin and shame and condemnation and guilt, just trying to faithfully serve the Lord on our own works and merit and abilities, brings nothing but disappointment and heaviness in and on our lives!

And my logical question to many of you today, both here in this building, as well as many watching via the live stream is this, “Why, if you have been set free from the bondage of sin and shame, why would you ensnare yourself to it all over again, or why would you forego the empowering grace of God and go back to a “works” based system of salvation?”

That is, if you have tasted of the sweetness of the true vine, which is Jesus the Christ, and if you have felt the embrace and warmth of forgiveness and release through His perfect love, why would you ever go back to the bondage of sin again, or works again?”

Much in the same way as Paul asked the church of Galatia, in , about who had bewitched them and allured them back into a form of salvation that was driven by works and the unattainable law and its righteous demands, as Paul asked, “Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.”

5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.

Today, I want to read a passage with you that is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 11 and in doing so, hopefully encourage each and every one of you to not only adamantly pursue that walk with Jesus the Christ, but hopefully, to increase the level of intimacy that you have with Him in that walk!

Turn with me in your Bibles this morning please to , and we will start reading there.

Matthew 11:25–30 NLT

At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way! “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

At the beginning of , before we get to this part of the chapter, we find Jesus being questioned by the disciples of John the Baptist, (who happens to be in prison) about the works that He is doing and if He is truly the prophesied Messiah that they have been awaiting, or should they just keep looking and awaiting another.

To this, Jesus tells John’s disciples to go back and tell John of all of the WORKS that Jesus has been performing: “The blind see again, the crippled walk, lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised back to life, and the poor and broken now hear of the hope of salvation!”

And after saying this, Jesus then turns to the crowds and questions them about why they went into the wilderness to witness John the Baptist, when he entered into his ministry.

What kind of man did they have expectations of finding when they went to see him?

People have pre-conceived ideas as to what the man or woman of God is supposed to look like and act like, in order to be a “real” apostle, prophet, evangelist, preacher or teacher, which, according to Paul, in , were given by Christ, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of His Body! But not to meet our agenda and our expectations!

Jesus was asking them if John met their expectations, based upon their EXTREMELY limited knowledge and understanding of the Word and the will of God!

Then, Jesus proceeds to correct their mindsets and informs them that what they considered to be great, (in the natural), dress and style and location and housing and attitude (A.K.A. “physical attributes”), were nothing in terms of rank and power within the Kingdom of God.

In fact, all of those who had ever come before John the Baptist, kings and prophets alike and even the patriarchal greats, like Abraham and Moses, were not as great (that is, ranking, or having a higher status), than John the baptist!

Jesus then blows everyone away and says that even the least in rank of those who were now entering Heaven’s Kingdom, were GREATER than that of John the Baptist!

And what was the defining difference that made the least in the Kingdom of God, greater than the greatest who had served the Lord before?

The defining difference was knowing Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, and having a personal and intimate belief and relationship with Him and who and what He was!

And having said this, Jesus states that the people of “this” generation, were, like children who were playing and complaining that the other kids were not cooperating and playing fairly and obeying “their” rules.

Jesus said that they were basically hypocrites for rejecting one person for not doing something and then defacing and belittling another person for doing that very thing!

In other words, you condemned John the Baptist and said that he had a demon in him because he didn’t act one way, and yet you reject the Son of God and His sovereignty, when He did the very thing that you condemned John the Baptist for not doing!

And it’s here that Jesus begins to show that this generation’s failure to recognize Him and who He is, would ultimately be matched with judgement for their rejection.

Just as Jesus had told John the Baptists’ disciples that the miracles that were taking place through Him, should speak for themselves and serve as proof for John, as to who Jesus was; now, Jesus declares judgement that will befall the places and the people who have witnessed these same miracles and yet their hearts are hardened and they still reject Him, which is of course ultimately rejecting His Father!

Jesus said that if the works that He were doing for the cities in this generation, had been performed in the wicked cities of Tyre and Sidon and Sodom, then they would have repented and turned from their ways and still be in existence that very day.

And because of this, even as wicked and sinful as these people were, Jesus said that on the day of judgement, it would be better for them, since they NEVER knew of the mighty miracles and power of the Son of God, than these cities that He stood in and worked the miracles of God and yet they still rejected Him and His sovereignty.

Rejecting the TRUTH of who Jesus is in this life has its own set of consequences, but in the face and the reality of eternity, it pales in comparison!

And now, after denouncing and proclaiming the reality of the judgement for the cities and the people who rejected the TRUTH of who He was, as evident by the mighty works and miracles that He was performing in their midst, Jesus turns to His Father in prayer, and thanks Him for His method of allowing those to receive the Christ, who would see Him for who He was and hiding it from the others.

And the very evidence that declared who He was to those who received Him as Lord, (His miracles), would become a blinder to those who should have known and recognized Him in that day and age.

In other words, the religious leaders, those who Jesus calls the “wise and understanding” in this prayer, should have known who Jesus was, especially with visual evidence of His miracles, because of their knowledge of the law and the prophets!

And yet, their pride and arrogance blinded them to the TRUTH and the reality of who the Messiah was.

Jesus said that those who receive Him were like little children; meaning, that they came to Him humbly and recognizing their dependence upon Him and His Father!

These are the ones that Jesus pronounced the blessing upon in Matthew chapter five during His Sermon on the Mount, where He started with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” and then He proceeds to list other traits of a true believer, “repentant, humble, peaceful, merciful, pure in heart and long suffering in trials.

Did you notice in this list of blessings from Matthew 5, that the characteristics of those who would enter the Kingdom of Heaven, very much mirror the very Fruit of the Spirit, that Paul mentions in , where he lists out: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”

And my point in saying this is that a person who professes Jesus as being Lord of their life, should be recognized by others as being so, because, the Fruit of the Holy Spirit should be manifesting in their life and being evident to others!

And so we are now at the part in our passage that we read a few minutes ago, where Jesus says in His prayer that, “You (the Father), have entrusted me with all that you are and all that you have. No one fully and intimately knows the Son except the Father. And no one fully and intimately knows the Father except the Son. But the Son is able to unveil(reveal) the Father to anyone he chooses.”

Jesus makes it very clear to everyone listening or reading this part of the prayer, about His relationship with God. God, His Father, has entrusted EVERYTHING of the Kingdom into His hands; that is all power and authority and judgement and wisdom and love and grace!

Jesus says that He and Yahweh, (His Father), know each other at the greatest depth possible, which means that their relationship transcends time and has been eternal!

And that no one else knows the Son like the Father and no else knows Father like the Son; accept to those whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

And then Jesus opens the invitation for anyone who would see and receive Him for who He was and is, by saying, “COME TO ME”!

27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

It’s at this point in the passage that I want to really stress something this morning. Look at what Jesus is telling us in this passage, where He says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” .”

“All who labor and are heavy laden”, what does Jesus mean in saying this, as He bids us to come?

This word actually refers to be

And in doing so, He tells you what He will do for you.

This is how the meaning of that phrase translates, “Everyone and anyone who is weary and tired from carrying heavy burdens upon themselves, COME and I will REFRESH you!”

What is the heaviness and the burden that Jesus mentions here?

Jesus had just mentioned that God hid who He was from the “wise and understanding”, (A.K.A. the religious zealots of their time), right?

Look at what He offers to you and I. “Take my yoke upon you”

Well, the religious leaders put so many laws and man-made regulations upon the people, as they tried to walk with and please God, that it became an unbearable burden for anyone to carry!

The people would walk around with shame and guilt and condemnation upon themselves, because they could not live up to the weight of all of the law and religious regulations!

The law and all of religious regulations had become like a YOKE that was sitting around the people’s necks.

A YOKE, was a large wooden harness that was hand carved and fitted around an ox's neck and then it was harnessed to a plow, or a wagon, or something of weight and then the oxen would pull this thing.

So, Jesus is saying that those who are tired of being weighed down with the oppressing YOKE of religion and want to TRULY know the FATHER, then COME!!!

And look at what Jesus offers to those who COME TO HIM. HE says, “Take my yoke upon you, For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

EXPLAIN HOW A YOKE WORKED WITH THE TWO ANIMALS WORKING TOGETHER AS ONE TEAM AND WHY THE YOKE HAD TO BE HAND CARVED AND FITTED FOR THE ANIMAL, SO AS TO NOT RUB RAW AND IRRITATE IT.

Jesus was saying that His YOKE was especially shaped and molded AND FITTED uniquely for you and I and that HE would be on the other side of that YOKE, carrying the burden and leading us, as we learn to follow Him and trust in Him more and more throughout our life here!

TRACTOR PULLS AND YOKES

Some people like going to events called Tractor Pulls. This is when they cover the floor of an arena with dirt and guys in souped-up tractors compete to see who can pull the heaviest loads. That’s nothing new because long before the internal combustion engine, farmers were competing with animals to see which one was strongest. They still have competitions in which workhorses compete. The beautiful Clydesdales breed has always been one of the strongest horses. Long before the Budweiser wagon, Clydesdales were pulling heavy loads. In these competitions, competitors made an interesting discovery. A single horse could pull a heavy load, but when yoked with another horse, together, they could pull more than the sum of the amount that each horse could pull alone.

For instance, let’s say a single Clydesdale can pull a sled holding two tons of weight. And another Clydesdale can pull three tons. You would think that when yoked together, the most they could pull would be five tons. But in reality when these two horses are yoked together, they can actually pull seven tons! You may think that’s not possible, but this phenomenon has been proven many times. It’s called synergy. Two pulling together can accomplish more than the sum of the two parts.

Now apply that principle to the yoke of Christ. You can try bearing the heavy load yourself, but Jesus invites you to join Him inside His yoke. Think about how much strength He has! He’s the strong One and I’m the weaker partner. Remember that first song you learned as a child? "Jesus loves me, this I know; for the Bible tells me so; little ones to Him belong, they (we) are weak but He is strong!"

This is what I was alluding to at the beginning when I asked you about having to do something, or endure something that was a HEAVY BURDEN on you and of how amazing it is, when someone else takes that burden off of you.

NO ONE and I mean NO ONE would ever be able to walk the TRUE Christian walk in this world, without Jesus walking alongside of us and carrying the burden for us!

The YOKE that Jesus, the master carpenter, custom fits for each of us, could be likened to the GRACE of God that we are given, as it is God’s grace that equips and empowers us to be able to walk out the calling and the commission that we have been given.

The YOKE of Jesus is the opposite of the natural yoke, in that it is light and never burdensome.

Coming to Jesus and taking His Yoke, would be like having a collar made of pure Black Ironwood, (which weighs around 84 lbs/cubic foot) removed from your neck and replaced with a collar made of Balsa Wood, which is the lightest wood and is 12x lighter than that of the Ironwood!

In other words, instead of a YOKE of religion that many people carry around, which is heavy and that weighs their head down, to the point that they cannot hold their head and keep their eyes focused on Jesus, the author and perfecter of their faith, the YOKE that Jesus custom fits for them, is light and made so that the individual can run and not grow weary, walk and not faint!

And all the while holding their gaze UP and upon the One who is truly taking sustaining and holding them up!

The YOKE is a work instrument and made to allow for the maximum work possible from the team wearing it! Now we, as humans, may want the YOKE to represent a mattress or a sofa for relaxing and taking it easy, but that is not what the YOKE of Christ (the GRACE of God) is for.

When you take the YOKE of Christ and partner up with HIM, then you are being equipped as His saint, for every good work, not for a prolonged vacation until He comes back!

MENTION OF JESSE (APPLIANCE INSTALLER) WHO TOLD ME ABOUT HIS DEALINGS WITH THE MAJORITY OF CHRISTIANS and PREACHERS!

These people are producing the very same thing as the religious leaders of Jesus’ time; they are laying weight and shame and condemnation upon all those who oppose them, and doing it in the name of Jesus and Christianity!

Why would anyone want to return to this, if they have truly felt the light YOKE of Jesus?

Paul said, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a YOKE of slavery.”

You either wear the YOKE of Christ and fulfill your calling that He has for you and your life, or you take it off and replace it with the YOKE of bondage, which is heavy and burdensome!

It’s your choice, the YOKE that is light and empowering, or the YOKE that is heavy and crippling!

As Isaiah said, we can throw off the spirit of HEAVINESS and in its place, put on the garment of praise!

reads,

Isaiah 10:27 KJV 1900

And it shall come to pass in that day, That his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, And his yoke from off thy neck, And the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

For years, people mistranslated this passage and took it mean anointing, because the word used here can mean oil.

The word, more accurately refers not oil, but to FAT.

So, what this verse is saying, is that as we grow closer and closer in our walk with God (through Jesus), we grow more and more spiritually! (We start to put on some spiritual girth and weight) and when this happens, the YOKE of oppression and heaviness is broke, because we become too big for it and it snaps right off!